Chapter 60: Transforming into Spring Mud to Nurture Flowers
Jiang Li told Lu Buke, the ironclad straight man, to meet in half an hour. He indeed waited for a full half hour.
In fact, he arrived about ten minutes early but insisted on wandering around the shops on the street opposite the water bar for a while, killing time by eating a spicy strip.
It wasn’t until almost exactly thirty minutes that he crossed the street and walked through the doors of the agreed-upon water bar, neither a second more nor less.
When he arrived leisurely, Jiang Li seemed to have been waiting for a long time, sitting in the corner by the window of the water bar, drinking tea with no expression on her face.
Lu Buke had long been accustomed to such expressions from Jiang Li. While he suffered from pathological facial paralysis, Jiang Li had psychological facial paralysis, but from a certain perspective, the two of them were already old friends.
Upon entering, Jiang Li glanced at Lu Buke, who was chewing on a spicy strip, gestured for him to sit across from her, and then lowered her head to drink tea.
“Do you have it? Did you bring it?”
Just as Lu Buke lifted the teacup, he heard Jiang Li’s dull voice.
It sounded like an illegal underground deal… he thought quietly as he pulled the chip from his upper coat pocket, placed it on the table, and pushed it in front of Jiang Li.
Jiang Li stared at the chip on the table, squinting her eyes, reached out, picked it up with two fingers, and examined it closely, her gaze flickering as if contemplating something.
When she picked up the chip, Lu Buke clearly saw her entire hand trembling slightly.
Noticing that Jiang Li hadn’t said anything for a long time, Lu Buke couldn’t contain his curiosity and asked, “Boss, what exactly is this thing? You seem to know?”
“Know,” Jiang Li replied calmly.
She had always known of the existence of such things. She had once seen a gold chip with the amount “100” on it, bearing identical patterns, at her father’s place.
However, this was just an ordinary chip with no special effects, serving merely as proof of entry.
With it, one could enter the gambling scene when it appeared; participation was not mandatory.
It seemed quite humane, right? But the urban legends operating the gambling games always managed to present highly tempting items that made it impossible not to gamble.
And once someone gambled, they could hardly turn back.
Lu Buke covertly observed Jiang Li as she played with the chip; the moment their eyes met, he signaled to her, “Are you hiding something from me?”
Jiang Li noticed Lu Buke’s strange gaze and briefly met his eyes, responding silently, “Nothing.”
“…”
Nothing? Not even the [Heart Emoji]? This woman is off!
While she acted nonchalant, as if the chip was nothing significant, it was already unusual to transfer something with spiritual energy fluctuations outside the Siye Society and not tell me what this chip is. Lu Buke thought.
As he pondered, Jiang Li finished the last sip of tea in her cup, set it down, and said lightly, “If there’s nothing else, you can go back.”
“Boss…”
Lu Buke didn’t get up, his brow furrowed, “Just a personal suggestion, some things are better said than bottled up. Two heads are better than one.”
“Even if you can’t get help, at least you can find a little comfort!”
After saying this, Lu Buke suddenly felt a bit disbelieving, after all, he was also searching alone for the truth behind his father’s d*ath.
Thinking of this, he rummaged through his coat pocket, pulled out a spicy strip, and tried to lighten the awkwardness.
“Here, buddy, have a spicy strip and cheer up.”
Jiang Li glanced at the spicy strip in Lu Buke’s hand, showing no intention of taking it, and then stared at him intently.
“Lu Buke, to be honest, this chip is indeed a bit special; it involves a certain urban legend. But for you, the matter ends here.”
“If you don’t want to prematurely utilize the benefits of the Siye Society’s burial grounds, don’t meddle in every little thing.”
Times have changed; many sweet and gentle girls have unknowingly transformed into terrifying beings.
Girls like Jiang Li prefer wielding a four-meter-long machete, rampaging through the streets, and once exhausted, collapsing in a pool of bl**d to pull out their phones and play a few rounds of Mahjong.
“Uh…” Lu Buke looked at Jiang Li’s serious expression, slightly stunned. “Do you mean I have nothing I can help with?”
“Help? How do you plan to help? Suddenly go berserk and slay everyone?” Jiang Li retorted.
“Don’t tell me you’re actually some badass who’s tired of the world’s struggles, hiding away in the Siye Society as a little operator, living a cushy life while casually flirting with girls?”
Regarding the gambling matters, there’s no one who could help. Even the Siye Society couldn’t assist; they couldn’t even find clues or patterns regarding the gambling game.
To completely destroy them, one must join the game and win every round.
Thus, Lu Buke must not be allowed to participate. If he went and lost, he might never get out. Jiang Li thought.
“…”
What invincible boss hiding a retired identity! I’m just a two-faced spy, emerging when needed for first-hand information to protect myself.
Is she threatening me? Threatening that if I meddle any further, she’ll expose my identity as Wang Buliu?
Lu Buke thought and shrugged, “Of course, I’m no big shot. If you know where such big shots are, please inform me. I would have long stopped struggling.”
Jiang Li rolled her eyes at him. “Then wait until you become such a big leg to help me, okay?”
“Are you really so cold? I thought we could exchange little secrets as friends…”
“…”
Friends? Perhaps when I return after winning that gambling game, I could be your friend.
Jiang Li thought coldly, “You’re thinking too much. I really dislike you; I’ve found you obnoxious since the first time I dragged you back to the Siye Society. I’ve never seen anyone who talks as much rubbish as you.”
Lu Buke, “…”
Seeing him fall silent, Jiang Li picked up her cane and limped toward the exit of the water bar.
Lu Buke frowned, watching her walk away slowly, suddenly stood up and chased after her.
“Wait!”
“Boss, I have a question.”
Jiang Li turned around, looking at Lu Buke calmly, silently waiting for his question.
Though she didn’t know what he wanted to ask, she was prepared to respond in the coldest way possible.
“Where did the Siye Society buy my burial ground? I want to visit, discuss with the cemetery manager, and have a QR code carved on my tombstone to record my life story or something.”
Jiang Li’s mouth twitched, her prepared lines stuck in her throat. After a long moment, she smiled and asked in confusion, “How do you always manage to spit out a bit of rubbish at any time?”
That feeling of being cringe but also somewhat relaxed was very enviable!
“Who knows?” Lu Buke shrugged. “Maybe it’s a special talent?”
“…” After pondering for a moment, Jiang Li looked at Lu Buke one last time and said, “Let me give you one last piece of advice.”
“Recently, no, never gamble with anyone.”
“Thanks for the reminder, but I’m not stupid. I won’t touch anything with odds, except for the card pool of ‘Love and Magical Girls’!” Lu Buke shrugged.
“Hmm.” Jiang Li answered blandly, then turned and left the water bar.
He shouldn’t be foolish enough to gamble with those urban legends over a rare paper character, right?
Unknowingly, a thought flashed through Jiang Li’s mind.
In the noisy crowd, Lu Buke quietly watched as Jiang Li, aided by Ahua, got into a car. The door closed, and the vehicle drove away, eventually disappearing into the evening rush.
————
As night fell, after completing the urban legend transformation, Lu Buke hailed a taxi and hurried to the Happy Neighborhood.
At that time, it was still early, and he didn’t encounter Uncle Zhang Shan, which made him a little disappointed.
Passing through the peaceful little garden of the Happy Neighborhood and returning to the rental room, as expected, Jiang Li had not come back.
Looking at the empty room, Lu Buke frowned, sat down on the sofa, and took out his phone to send a message to Jiang Li.
Wang Buliu: “Are you there? Didn’t you ask me to come back early? Why aren’t you here?”
After waiting for two minutes.
Genius Mahjong Girl: “Something came up last minute, can’t make it back. See you at the welcome meeting tomorrow.”
Although Jiang Li now had clues about the gambling game and had even obtained entry credentials, the bounty for the Happy Neighborhood was what led her to involve Lu Buke; she decided to see it through to the end.
After all, just as she had urgent information she wanted to know, Jiang Li believed that Lu Buke wanted to hang around with the urban legends chat group as well, likely to discover something significant.
Because she had already obtained what she wanted, leaving Lu Buke to complete the bounty alone was something Jiang Li couldn’t do.
Wang Buliu: “You’ve changed; you didn’t even send a heart emoji! Are you out there with another dude?”
Genius Mahjong Girl: “[Heart Emoji]”
Looking at Jiang Li’s reply, Lu Buke was momentarily lost in thought, lightly cursing and tossing the phone aside.
“Tsk! How perfunctory.”
————
Late at night.
Lu Buke lay in the rental room’s bed, playing on his phone, and unknowingly fell asleep, plunged into darkness, soon hearing eerie silence.
Then.
Slowly, his body began to sink, as if falling into the water, light and airy, like floating among clouds.
Finally, a whisper-like breeze brushed past his ear, waking him up.
Upon opening his eyes, he saw Qing Ji, with a terrifyingly dark expression, sitting not far in front of him.
“Dear daughter-in-law, you finally appeared. I’ve been waiting for you for so long.”
Lu Buke, “…”
Uh-oh, filled with thoughts of Jiang Li today, how did I forget about him?
Seeing Qing Ji, Lu Buke felt a bit panicked; while lying to parents was something all kids had done, there shouldn’t be anyone completely unshaken by it.
“Let’s talk. When I called for you previously, why didn’t you respond?”
“This…” Lu Buke’s eyes spun around, quickly concocting a response.
“After leaving here, I tried to apply what I learned from ‘Taihe Gentleman Sword Illustration’ yesterday, and I fainted right away, just woke up now.”
“You know, as a girl, I lack the talent and physical resilience compared to geniuses like you, so practicing ‘Taihe Gentleman Sword Illustration’ places a heavy burden on me…”
“Enough, I can’t be bothered to listen to your nonsense!” Qing Ji interrupted, waving his hand. “Don’t think I can’t tell you’re lying; all this is leftover from my own antics.”
Lu Buke, “…”
Right, almost forgot he’s the first generation of our Lu family’s tormentor.
“However, it doesn’t matter; I won’t care about such small matters.” Qing Ji said, “Less chit-chat, let’s quickly start today’s practice while my remaining spirit energy hasn’t run out?”
“While you were away today, I had some time on my hands and carefully observed and studied this place; it seems quite special.”
“Though I don’t know why you and I appeared in such a strange place, I must say, it’s an excellent location for practice.”
Lu Buke frowned in confusion, “What’s so special about it?”
“For instance…”
Qing Ji opened his mouth, his form flickering, rushing towards Lu Buke and appearing in front of her in the blink of an eye.
The next moment, she felt a chill on her neck, and then watched helplessly as her headless body swayed twice before “thudding” to the ground, slowly turning to ash.
Qing Ji demonstrated to Lu Buke what it meant to clear the way.
Holy cr*p, my body and head have separated! Lu Buke’s pupils contracted sharply, her mind barely able to flash that thought before darkness enveloped her again.
——
In the midst of silence, Lu Buke felt as if she was swept into a whirlpool of darkness, struggling in the depths for what seemed like an eternity. When all vitality was nearly extinguished, her body began to slowly rise…
When she opened her eyes again, she gasped for air like someone rescued from drowning, the sharp pain still lingering on her neck, as if she had truly lost her head by a sword just moments ago.
As Lu Buke was immersed in that bizarre experience of repeatedly teetering on the brink of d*ath, unable to extricate herself, staring blankly at the red-brown haze on the horizon, Qing Ji leaned over.
“Well? Isn’t it special? I’ve tried many times, and here you won’t d*e.”
“…”
Lu Buke shivered slightly, wiping the cold sweat from her forehead, and weakly asked, “Can I ask how you came to try out this strange mechanism?”
“Very simple!” Qing Ji shrugged. “Just like this…”
As he spoke, he picked up the ancient sword in his hand and “stab!” drove it through his own chest, then turned to ash before Lu Buke’s shocked eyes.
“…”
Holy sh*t, incredible!
What does it mean to truly be the tormentor king? Getting so worked up he tortures himself, that’s the true tormentor king!
Just don’t know what kind of mentality he had to make such extreme moves.
Lu Buke thought as behind her, Qing Ji’s form reassembled at some point, softly spoke to her, “Dear daughter-in-law, I’m coming!”
Lu Buke, “…”
Why does that sound strange? Is it me or him who has the problem?
Wait, no!
“Wait a minute, I’m not ready… uh—!”
Before Lu Buke could finish her sentence, accompanied by the swirling wind and clouds, a cold light like the bright moon flashed before her eyes, plunging her into darkness once more.
A moment later.
Reformed, Lu Buke covered her chest with one hand and leaned against the rooftop wall with the other, drenched in cold sweat, gasping for air.
“Whoa—whoa—!”
“Wait, wait, Ancestor, let’s discuss; is this practice method a bit too extreme, too brutal, too bloody?”
“You should know, our readers are teenagers; they can’t handle such scenes! Otherwise, they might report us…”
“Less nonsense! Didn’t you say you’ve memorized everything I taught you?” Qing Ji interrupted, “In this urgent timeframe, only life-and-d*ath battles can help you grasp it quickly.”
“But…”
“There are no buts. Use well what I taught you to save your life!”
“Watch the sword!”
Qing Ji yelled, and then Lu Buke was sent flying.
Moments later.
“Stop, stop, the child is nearly beaten stupid!”
“Pfft—!”
……
“You can’t do this; how can you hit a woman? It tarnishes your glorious greatness…”
“Pfft—!”
……
“d*mn! Are you intentionally taking revenge for me treating you coldly in the daytime?”
“Pfft, pfft, bang—!”
Lu Buke, “???”
Qing Ji remained silent, intensifying the sword’s momentum, responding to Lu Buke with action.
Yes, that’s right, I hold grudges.
————
An extremely fearful person facing repeated deaths created countless whirlpools in their consciousness, blackness intertwined like an ocean of pain and despair, sketching a silent world.
Then, when Lu Buke faced her eighty-ninth d*ath.
She finally managed to barely keep up with Qing Ji’s movements; although she didn’t completely dodge the thunderous cold light, under her precise manipulation of spiritual energy, the muscles in her shoulder executed a “layering defense.”
The ferocious sword that was originally meant to cleave her in two struck her shoulder and buried itself into her collarbone, coming to a halt.
Seeing this, Qing Ji praised, “Not bad, you’ve made progress, and quickly too!”
“Right? I think so too.” Lu Buke gritted her teeth through the pain.
“But it’s still not enough.” Qing Ji said, and with a shake of his sword arm, waves rippled beneath his sleeves.
Lu Buke heard her bones within her body erupting with a thunderous crack.
The next moment, she exploded.
Shattered organs flew apart like deep red petals scattered to the sky.
Flying in the air, sinking into the ground, morphing into air, merging into dust…
Just as the ancient poem states, at this moment, Lu Buke had indeed been reduced to mud, trampled into dust, transforming into spring mud that nurtures flowers.
